U.S. patent application number 12/730667 was filed with the patent office on 2010-10-07 for tray supply apparatus.
This patent application is currently assigned to Sony Corporation. Invention is credited to Katsuhiko Ohno.
Application Number | 20100256801 12/730667 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 42826881 |
Filed Date | 2010-10-07 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100256801 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Ohno; Katsuhiko |
October 7, 2010 |
TRAY SUPPLY APPARATUS
Abstract
A tray supply apparatus includes a tray magazine, a sub
magazine, a supply station, and a lifting and lowering mechanism.
The tray magazine can store a tray on each of a plurality of
stages. The tray stores components. The sub magazine includes a
plurality of conveyance mechanisms having a plurality of stages.
The sub magazine is adjacent to the tray magazine and capable of
taking out the tray from the tray magazine. The supply station
includes a plurality of placement portions having a plurality of
stages, on each of which the tray is placed, and a stage that lifts
and lowers the tray between the plurality of placement portions.
The supply station is disposed at a position where the components
are picked up. The lifting and lowering mechanism lifts and lowers
the sub magazine to convey the tray between the tray magazine and
the supply station through the sub magazine.
Inventors: |
Ohno; Katsuhiko; (Kanagawa,
JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
SONNENSCHEIN NATH & ROSENTHAL LLP
P.O. BOX 061080, WACKER DRIVE STATION, WILLIS TOWER
CHICAGO
IL
60606-1080
US
|
Assignee: |
Sony Corporation
Tokyo
JP
|
Family ID: |
42826881 |
Appl. No.: |
12/730667 |
Filed: |
March 24, 2010 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
700/218 ;
414/796.7 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H05K 13/0434
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
700/218 ;
414/796.7 |
International
Class: |
B65G 49/00 20060101
B65G049/00; B65G 59/02 20060101 B65G059/02; G06F 7/00 20060101
G06F007/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Apr 6, 2009 |
JP |
2009-091713 |
Claims
1. A tray supply apparatus, comprising: a tray magazine capable of
storing a tray on each of a plurality of stages, the tray storing
components; a sub magazine including a plurality of conveyance
mechanisms having a plurality of stages, the sub magazine being
adjacent to the tray magazine and being capable of taking out the
tray from the tray magazine, the plurality of conveyance mechanisms
each conveying the tray; a supply station including a plurality of
placement portions having a plurality of stages, on each of which
the tray is placed, and a stage that lifts and lowers the tray
between the plurality of placement portions, the supply station
being disposed at a position where the components stored in the
tray are picked up; and a lifting and lowering mechanism to lift
and lower the sub magazine to convey the tray between the tray
magazine and the supply station through the sub magazine.
2. The tray supply apparatus according to claim 1, further
comprising: a control means for controlling drive of the lifting
and lowering mechanism so that a height of at least one of the
plurality of conveyance mechanisms is set to be equal to a height
of at least one of the plurality of placement portions.
3. The tray supply apparatus according to claim 2, wherein one of
an interval of the plurality of placement portions and a storing
interval for the tray in the tray magazine is set to an integer
multiple of an interval of the plurality of conveyance
mechanisms.
4. The tray supply apparatus according to claim 3, further
comprising: a conveyance control means for controlling drives of
first and second conveyance mechanisms out of the plurality of
conveyance mechanisms so that a time period during which the tray
is moved from a first placement portion out of the plurality of
placement portions to the sub magazine by the first conveyance
mechanism is overlapped with a time period during which the tray is
moved from the sub magazine to a second placement portion out of
the plurality of placement portions by the second conveyance
mechanism, the first conveyance mechanism being positioned at a
height corresponding to a height of the first placement
portion.
5. The tray supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the
supply station includes a placement portion movement mechanism to
move the placement portion to cause the placement portion to place
the tray and release the placement of the tray, and means for
controlling the stage and the placement portion movement mechanism
so that, when the tray is moved from a first placement portion to a
second placement portion out of the plurality of placement
portions, the stage is caused to support the tray, the placement
portion movement mechanism is caused to release the placement of
the tray on the first placement portion and place the tray on the
second placement portion, and the support of the tray by the stage
is released.
6. The tray supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the
conveyance mechanism is a belt conveyor unit that moves the tray
placed thereon.
7. The tray supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the
placement portion is a belt conveyor unit that moves the tray
placed thereon.
8. The tray supply apparatus according to claim 1, further
comprising: means for controlling a height of the stage in
accordance with the components having different heights.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a tray supply apparatus
that supplies a tray, in which a plurality of electronic components
or a plurality of other components are stored, to a component
pickup position in a component mounting apparatus, for example.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] In related art, there has been proposed an apparatus that
supplies a tray in which a plurality of electronic components are
stored to a component pickup position in a component mounting
apparatus. An apparatus A disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2808646
(hereinafter, referred to as Patent Document 1) includes a magazine
apparatus B in which trays are layered and stored and a table
apparatus C that pulls out one tray 3 from the magazine apparatus
B. The table apparatus C has a function of taking out a component
from the tray and mounting the component taken out on a sub stage D
at a pickup position of the component in the component mounting
apparatus (see, FIGS. 1 and 2 of Patent Document 1).
[0005] On the other hand, in an apparatus disclosed in Japanese
Patent No. 3711689 (hereinafter, referred to as Patent Document 2),
two trays 14 pulled out from a magazine 10 are brought into a
standby state at a first standby stage S11 and a second standby
stage S21 that are vertically arranged in two stages (see, FIGS. 4
to 11 of Patent Document 2).
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] Incidentally, there are demands in the industrial field for
the increase in number of trays that can be supplied by a tray
supply apparatus to a component mounting apparatus per unit time,
that is, the improvement of time efficiency of the supply of
trays.
[0007] In view of the above-mentioned circumstances, it is
desirable to provide a tray supply apparatus capable of performing
time-efficient supplying of trays to a component mounting
apparatus.
[0008] According to an embodiment of the present invention, there
is provided a tray supply apparatus including a tray magazine, a
sub magazine, a supply station, and a lifting and lowering
mechanism.
[0009] The tray magazine is capable of storing a tray on each of a
plurality of stages, and the tray stores components.
[0010] The sub magazine includes a plurality of conveyance
mechanisms having a plurality of stages. The sub magazine is
adjacent to the tray magazine and is capable of taking out the tray
from the tray magazine. The plurality of conveyance mechanisms each
convey the tray.
[0011] The supply station includes a plurality of placement
portions having a plurality of stages, on each of which the tray is
placed, and a stage that lifts and lowers the tray between the
plurality of placement portions. The supply station is disposed at
a position where the components stored in the tray are picked
up.
[0012] The lifting and lowering mechanism lifts and lowers the sub
magazine to convey the tray between the tray magazine and the
supply station through the sub magazine.
[0013] The supply station includes a stage that lifts and lowers a
tray between the plurality of placement portions, and the tray can
be moved between the placement portions. That is, the drives of the
lifting and lowering stage and the lifting and lowering mechanism
are appropriately controlled so that a time-efficient conveyance
path is set in the case where the tray is conveyed through the tray
magazine, the conveyance mechanism, and the placement portion. As a
result, the time efficiency of the supply of the tray can be
increased.
[0014] The tray supply apparatus further includes a control means
for controlling drive of the lifting and lowering mechanism so that
a height of at least one of the plurality of conveyance mechanisms
is set to be equal to a height of at least one of the plurality of
placement portions.
[0015] One of an interval of the plurality of placement portions
and a storing interval for the trays of the tray magazine is set to
an integer multiple of an interval of the plurality of conveyance
mechanisms.
[0016] With this structure, it is possible to convey the trays
between the plurality of conveyance mechanisms and the plurality of
placement portions substantially at the same time, with the result
that the time efficiency of the supply of the tray can be
increased.
[0017] The tray supply apparatus further includes a conveyance
control means for controlling drives of first and second conveyance
mechanisms out of the plurality of conveyance mechanisms so that a
time period during which the tray is moved from a first placement
portion out of the plurality of placement portions to the sub
magazine by the first conveyance mechanism is overlapped with a
time period during which the tray is moved from the sub magazine to
a second placement portion out of the plurality of placement
portions by the second conveyance mechanism, the first conveyance
mechanism being positioned at a height corresponding to a height of
the first placement portion.
[0018] That is, for example, during returning of the tray from the
supply station to the sub magazine, the tray in which the next
requisite component is stored can be conveyed from the sub magazine
to the supply station. As a result, the time efficiency of the
supply of the tray can be increased.
[0019] The supply station includes a placement portion movement
mechanism and means for controlling the stage and the placement
portion movement mechanism.
[0020] The placement portion movement mechanism moves the placement
portion to cause the placement portion to place the tray and
release the placement of the tray.
[0021] The means for controlling the stage and the placement
portion movement mechanism controls the stage and the placement
portion movement mechanism so that, when the tray is moved from a
first placement portion to a second placement portion out of the
plurality of placement portions, the stage is caused to support the
tray, the placement portion movement mechanism is caused to release
the placement of the tray on the first placement portion and place
the tray on the second placement portion, and the support of the
tray by the stage is released.
[0022] The conveyance mechanism is a belt conveyor unit that moves
the tray placed thereon.
[0023] With this structure, it is possible to realize a
miniaturized conveyance mechanism with a simpler structure as
compared to another conveyance system. The placement portion may
also be a belt conveyor unit that moves the tray placed
thereon.
[0024] The tray supply apparatus further includes means for
controlling a height of the stage in accordance with the components
having different heights.
[0025] For example, even in a case where an adjustment range
(generally preset) of the height of the pickup mechanism for
picking up a component from the tray disposed on the supply station
is relatively small, the height of the tray can be changed by the
stage. As a result, the component mounting apparatus can treat a
relatively large (high) component.
[0026] As described above, according to the embodiments of the
present invention, the increase in size of the tray magazine can be
prevented, and the trays can be supplied in a time-efficient
manner.
[0027] These and other objects, features and advantages of the
present invention will become more apparent in light of the
following detailed description of best mode embodiments thereof, as
illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0028] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a tray supply apparatus
according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0029] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the tray supply apparatus;
[0030] FIG. 3 is a side view showing the tray supply apparatus;
[0031] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing main parts of the tray
supply apparatus;
[0032] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional perspective view showing a part
of the tray supply apparatus for explaining a belt conveyor unit
and a loading mechanism;
[0033] FIG. 6 are perspective views showing operations of the tray
supply apparatus in sequence;
[0034] FIG. 7 are perspective views showing operations of the tray
supply apparatus in sequence;
[0035] FIG. 8 are perspective views showing operations of the tray
supply apparatus in sequence;
[0036] FIG. 9 are diagrams showing a part of a conveyor on which a
supply station and a printed circuit board are mounted at a time of
a component mounting process;
[0037] FIG. 10 are schematic diagrams showing movement operations
in sequence in a vertical direction of a tray in the supply
station;
[0038] FIG. 11 are process diagrams schematically showing
operations of the tray supply apparatus, which correspond to FIGS.
7 and 8;
[0039] FIG. 12 are process diagrams schematically showing
operations of the tray supply apparatus in a second embodiment;
[0040] FIG. 13 are diagrams each showing a relationship between a
stroke of a suction head and a thickness (height) of an electrical
component for explaining operations of the tray supply apparatus in
a third embodiment;
[0041] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a relatively
thick electrical component; and
[0042] FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a further thick
electrical component.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0043] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be
described with reference to the drawings.
[0044] (Structure of Tray Supply Apparatus)
[0045] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a tray supply apparatus
according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a
plan view showing the tray supply apparatus, and FIG. 3 is a side
view thereof. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing details of the
tray supply apparatus.
[0046] A tray supply apparatus 100 includes a tray magazine 10, a
sub magazine 20, a supply station 40, and a lifting and lowering
mechanism 30. The tray magazine 10, the sub magazine 20, and the
supply station 40 are arranged in a line in a Y direction in FIGS.
1 and 2, for example.
[0047] The tray magazine 10 is capable of storing a plurality of
trays 2, in each of which electrical components P (see, FIG. 2) are
stored, in a predetermined number of stages, e.g., 10 to 30 stages
in a vertical direction (Z direction). Typically, one tray 2 is
mounted on one palette 4. A plurality of sets of the tray 2 and the
palette 4 are stored in the tray magazine 10 with the tray 2 and
the palette 4 being one set. Hereinafter, the set of the tray 2 and
the palette 4 is simply referred to as a "tray", as long as the
palette 4 is particularly mentioned. It should be noted that the
tray supply apparatus 100 may eliminate the palette 4 and use only
the tray 2.
[0048] In the one tray 2, a plurality of electrical components P
are stored. As shown in FIG. 2, the one tray 2 includes a plurality
of pockets that are divided in a matrix pattern, for example. In
one pocket, one electrical component P is stored. Typically, in the
one tray 2, the plurality of electrical components P that are the
same are stored. However, different electrical components P may be
stored in the one tray 2. Examples of the electrical component P
include an IC package, a capacitor, a resistance, a coil, a
connector, and the like.
[0049] The sub magazine 20 is adjacent to the tray magazine 10 and
connected to the lifting and lowering mechanism 30 so as to be
lifted and lowered by the lifting and lowering mechanism 30. The
sub magazine 20 includes a base plate 21, side plates 22 fixed on
both sides of the base plate 21, and a plurality of belt conveyor
units 27 respectively provided to the side plates 22. The belt
conveyor units 27 each function as a conveyor mechanism for
conveying the tray 2.
[0050] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional perspective view of a part of
the tray supply apparatus for explaining the belt conveyor units 27
and loading mechanisms 53 (described later). The belt conveyor
units 27 are vertically arranged on three stages, that is, six belt
conveyor units 27 are provided in total. The number of stages may
be two or may be four or more. In this embodiment, the number of
the belt conveyor units 27 is set to be smaller than the number of
stages of the tray magazine 10 on which the trays 2 can be stored
(for example, 10 to 30 stages as described above). The six belt
conveyor units 27 substantially have the same structure. Two belt
conveyor units 27 provided at the same height on both sides of the
sub magazine 20 convey one tray 2.
[0051] Hereinafter, one belt conveyor unit 27 will be described. As
shown in FIG. 4, the belt conveyor unit 27 includes a conveyance
motor 23, a drive pulley 25, a follower pulley 26, and an endless
belt 24. The drive pulley 25 is driven by the conveyance motor 23.
The endless belt 24 is extended between the drive pulley 25 and the
follower pulley 26. For example, the conveyance motor 23 is
attached to the side plate 22, and the drive pulley 25 and the
follower pulley 26 are rotatably connected to the side plate
22.
[0052] The two belt conveyor units 27 provided at the same height
are distanced so that the palette 4 is placed on the two endless
belts 24.
[0053] In this embodiment, the belt conveyor units 27 are used,
thereby making it possible to realize a miniaturized conveyance
mechanism with a simpler structure as compared to another
conveyance system.
[0054] On an end of each of the side plates 22 of the sub magazine
20, on the side on which the tray magazine 10 is provided, the
loading mechanism 53 is provided. The loading mechanism 53 pulls
out the tray 2 stored in the tray magazine 10 and loads the tray 2
into the sub magazine 20, and unloads it from the sub magazine 20
to the tray magazine 10.
[0055] FIG. 5 partially shows the perspective cross-sectional view
for explaining the loading mechanism 53. The loading mechanism 53
is provided for each of the belt conveyor units 27. The loading
mechanism 53 includes a guide roller 51, a loading motor 52, and an
opening and closing mechanism (not shown). The guide rollers 51 are
rotatable around an axis in the Z direction and sandwich the
palette 4 from the both sides thereof. The loading motor 52 rotates
the guide roller 51. The opening and closing mechanism opens and
closes the guide roller 51 in an X direction.
[0056] The opening and closing mechanism may be formed of a
rack-and-pinion mechanism, a ball screw mechanism, a solenoid, or
an air cylinder, for example. Alternatively, the opening and
closing mechanism may be an elastic material such as a spring and
rubber, which gives the palette 4 an elastic force by sandwiching
the palette 4 from the both sides thereof.
[0057] Intervals in the Z direction of the belt conveyor units 27
(and the loading mechanisms 53) correspond to storing intervals,
that is, intervals in the Z direction of the trays 2 stored in the
tray magazine 10.
[0058] The lifting and lowering mechanism 30 lifts and lowers the
sub magazine 20 to convey the tray 2 between the tray magazine 10
and the supply station 40. The lifting and lowering mechanism 30
includes a base body 34, a ball screw mechanism 31, a guide rail
32, and a movable body 33. The base body 34 is caused to stand
vertically in the Z direction. The ball screw mechanism 31 and the
guide rail 32 are attached to the base body 34. The movable body 33
is attached to the side plate 22 (or the base plate 21) of the sub
magazine 20 and slidably connected to the guide rail 32.
[0059] The supply station 40 includes a base plate 41, side plates
42, and a lifting and lowering stage 55. The side plates 42 are
fixed on both sides of the base plate 41. The lifting and lowering
stage 55 is provided to the base plate 41. In addition, the supply
station 40 further includes belt conveyor units 47 and an opening
and closing cylinder 54. The belt conveyor units 47 serve as
placement portions having multiple stages and provided to the side
plates 42 through a plate member. The opening and closing cylinder
54 performs an opening and closing drive on an uppermost belt
conveyor unit 47, out of the belt conveyor units 47, in a lateral
direction (X direction).
[0060] The belt conveyor unit 47 may have the same structure as the
belt conveyor unit 27 of the sub magazine 20. The number of belt
conveyor units 47 is set to four in two stages in the Z direction.
Each interval thereof in the Z direction is set to twice the
intervals between the belt conveyor units 27 of the sub magazine
20.
[0061] The lifting and lowering stage 55 includes a stage plate 48
and a lifting and lowering motor 49. The stage plate 48 forms a
part of the base plate 41, and the lifting and lowering motor 49 is
provided on a lower side of the stage plate 48. The lifting and
lowering stage 55 lifts and lowers the tray 2 (and the palette 4)
between the belt conveyor units 47 in the two stages with the
palette 4 being placed on the stage plate 48. For the lifting and
lowering motor 49, a servomotor, a stepping motor, or the like is
used, to lift and lower the stage plate 48 so as to be positioned
within an arbitrary range between the belt conveyor units 47.
[0062] The opening and closing cylinder 54 is provided on the side
plate 42. As a mechanism for opening and closing, another drive
system that uses a motor may be used instead of the cylinder drive
system that uses the opening and closing cylinder 54. While the
uppermost belt conveyor units 47 are evacuated so as to be opened
toward outside by the opening and closing cylinder 54, the lifting
and lowering stage 55 lifts (or lowers) the tray 2.
[0063] It should be noted that, in FIG. 1, the mechanism of the
loading mechanism 53, the belt conveyor units 27, the opening and
closing cylinder 54, and the like are simplified or omitted, and
the same holds true for descriptions on operations with reference
to FIGS. 6 to 8.
[0064] For example, the base plate 41 is supported by a support
body (not shown) from the bottom thereof, thereby disposing the
supply station 40 at a predetermined height. The height of the
supply station 40 is typically set as follows. That is, the height
of the tray 2 placed on the uppermost belt conveyor unit 47 of the
supply station 40 is set to be the same as the height of the tray 2
stored in the uppermost stage of the tray magazine 10.
[0065] A distance between the tray magazine 10 and the sub magazine
20 is set as appropriate so that the trays 2 can be conveyed
therebetween by the loading mechanisms 53 and the belt conveyor
units 27. In the same way, a distance between the sub magazine 20
and the supply station 40 is set as appropriate so that the trays 2
can be conveyed therebetween by the belt conveyor units 27 and
47.
[0066] As shown in FIG. 3, typically, the supply station 40 is
disposed at a position where the electronic component P stored in
the tray 2 is picked up by a suction head 153 of a component
mounting apparatus 150 that sucks the electronic component P. In
FIG. 3, a part of the component mounting apparatus 150 is shown.
The component mounting apparatus 150 includes the suction head 153
and a conveyor 152. The suction head 153 is movable in the Z and Y
directions. The conveyor 152 conveys a printed circuit board 151 as
a target on which the electronic component P is mounted. In FIG. 3,
the conveyor 152 conveys the printed circuit board 151 in a
direction vertical to the plane of FIG. 3. The suction head 153
picks up the electronic component P from the tray 2 on the supply
station 40 and mounts the electronic component P on the printed
circuit board 151 on the conveyor 152.
[0067] In addition, the tray supply apparatus 100 is provided with
a main controller 5, a tray magazine control unit 3, a sub magazine
control unit 6, and a supply station control unit 9.
[0068] The tray magazine control unit 3 stores identification
numbers of the trays 2 in the tray magazine 10 and manages the
trays 2 and the like that are stored in the tray magazine 10 or
that are taken out from the tray magazine 10. In addition, the tray
magazine control unit 3 manages a stock status and the like of the
electrical components P based on the identification numbers of the
trays 2.
[0069] The sub magazine control unit 6 controls the drives of the
lifting and lowering mechanism 30, the loading mechanisms 53, the
belt conveyor units 27 (conveyance motors 23), and the like. The
loading mechanisms 53 and the conveyance motors 23 are separately
driven.
[0070] The supply station control unit 9 controls the drives of the
belt conveyor units 27 and 47 (conveyance motors 23 and 43), the
opening and closing cylinder 54, the lifting and lowering stage 55,
and the like. The conveyance motors 23 and 43 are separately
driven. But, the two conveyance motors 23 (and the two conveyance
motors 43) positioned at the same height may be driven based on a
common drive signal.
[0071] The main controller 5 performs overall control on the tray
magazine control unit 3, the sub magazine control unit 6, and the
supply station control unit 9.
[0072] The main controller 5 and the control units 3, 6, and 9 are
implemented with hardware or with both of hardware and software.
Examples of the hardware that implements the controller and the
control units include a CPU (central processing unit), an MPU
(micro processing unit), a RAM (random access memory), a ROM (read
only memory), a DSP (digital signal processor), an FPGA (field
programmable gate array), and the like.
[0073] It should be noted that the main controller 5 may be the
same controller that performs the overall control on the component
mounting apparatus 150 or may be a different controller.
[0074] (Operations of Tray Supply Apparatus 100)
[0075] FIGS. 6 to 8 are perspective views showing operations of the
tray supply apparatus 100 in sequence. As shown in FIG. 6A, in
order to pull out a predetermined tray 2 stored in the tray
magazine 10, the sub magazine 20 is driven by the lifting and
lowering mechanism 30 and thus positioned to a height at which the
tray 2 is stored. Specifically, the sub magazine 20 is driven so
that the height of a set (pair) of the belt conveyor units 27 out
of the belt conveyor units 27 of the sub magazine 20 is set to be
the same as the height at which the tray 2 to be pulled out is
stored in the tray magazine 10.
[0076] When the sub magazine 20 is positioned, by the drives of the
loading mechanisms 53 and the belt conveyor units 27, the tray 2 is
pulled out from the tray magazine 10. Hereinafter, the tray 2 that
is pulled out first is referred to as a first tray 2a. When the
first tray 2a is moved to a predetermined position on the base
plate 21 of the sub magazine 20, the drive of the belt conveyor
units 27 is stopped, and the first tray 2a is positioned at a
predetermined position on the endless belt 24. In this embodiment,
at the time when the first tray 2a is pulled out from the tray
magazine 10, out of three sets (upper, middle, and lower stages) of
belt conveyor units 27, the belt conveyor units 27 on the upper
stage are used.
[0077] As described above, when the first tray 2a is passed to the
sub magazine 20, the sub magazine 20 is positioned at the same
height as the supply station 40 by the drive of the lifting and
lowering mechanism 30 as shown in FIG. 6B. In this embodiment, the
sub magazine 20 is positioned so that the height of the upper belt
conveyor units 27 on which the first tray 2a is disposed is set to
be equal to the height of the upper belt conveyor units 47 of the
supply station 40.
[0078] When the sub magazine 20 is positioned, the upper belt
conveyor units 47 of the supply station 40 are driven. As shown in
FIG. 6C, when the first tray 2a is moved to a predetermined
position on the base plate 41 of the supply station 40, the drive
of the belt conveyor units 47 is stopped, and the first tray 2a is
positioned at a predetermined position on the endless belts 44.
[0079] As described above, in the process in which the first tray
2a is conveyed from the tray magazine 10 to the supply station 40,
timings of starting and stopping the drive of the loading
mechanisms 53 and the belt conveyor units 27 and 47 are set as
appropriate, and the setting can be changed as appropriate.
[0080] The first tray 2a is disposed on the supply station 40, the
electronic component P is taken out from the first tray 2a with the
suction head 153 of the component mounting apparatus 150, and the
electronic component P taken out is mounted on the printed circuit
board. FIGS. 9A to 9F are perspective views each showing a part of
the conveyor 152 on which the supply station 40 and the printed
circuit board 151 are placed at the time of the mounting
process.
[0081] During the mounting process of the electronic component P,
as shown in FIGS. 7A to 7C, the sub magazine 20 pulls out the next
tray 2 (referred to as second tray 2b) from the tray magazine 10
and positioned to the height of the supply station 40, as in the
same way shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B.
[0082] As shown in FIG. 7C, the first tray 2a is moved from the
upper stage to the lower stage by the drive of the lifting and
lowering stage 55. FIGS. 10A to 10D are schematic diagrams showing
movement operations of the first tray 2a in sequence.
[0083] As shown in FIG. 10A, by the drive of the lifting and
lowering motor 49 of the lifting and lowering stage 55, the stage
plate 48 is lifted, to support and hold up the palette 4 from the
bottom, thereby separating the palette 4 upwards from the upper
belt conveyor unit 47. In other words, the state in which the
palette 4 is placed on the endless belts 44 (see, FIG. 4) is
released.
[0084] Next, as shown in FIG. 10B, by the drive of the opening and
closing cylinder 54, the upper belt conveyor units 47 are evacuated
to outside. Then, as shown in FIG. 10C, the stage plate 48 is
lowered, thereby placing the palette 4 on the endless belts 44 of
the lower belt conveyor units 47.
[0085] Then, as shown in FIG. 10D, the stage plate 48 is further
lowered and buried in the base plate 41. That is, after the palette
4 is placed on the endless belts 44, the stage plate 48 releases
the support of the palette 4. In addition, the upper belt conveyor
units 47 are closed and returned to the original position. In this
way, the first tray 2a is moved from the upper stage to the lower
stage.
[0086] Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 8A, the positions of the
first tray 2a and the second tray 2b are exchanged. In the supply
station 40, as shown in FIG. 10D, the first tray 2a is disposed on
the lower stage of the supply station 40, and the second tray 2b is
disposed on the upper stage of the sub magazine 20. In this state,
the lower belt conveyor units 47 of the supply station 40 and the
upper belt conveyor units 27 of the sub magazine 20 are driven. As
a result, the first tray 2a is moved to the lower belt conveyor
units 27 of the sub magazine 20, and the second tray 2b is moved to
the upper belt conveyor units 47 of the supply station 40. Then, as
in the case of the first tray 2a, the electronic component P stored
in the second tray 2b is mounted on the printed circuit board
151.
[0087] As described above, in this embodiment, the positions of the
two trays 2 respectively disposed on the sub magazine 20 and the
supply station 40 are exchanged substantially at the same time.
Thus, the time efficiency of the supply of the tray 2 can be
increased. The way of exchanging the trays 2 is not necessarily
limited to the way in which the two trays 2 are simultaneously
started to move and simultaneously stopped. It is only necessary to
overlap the periods of time during which the two trays 2 are
moved.
[0088] After the operation shown in FIG. 8A, during the mounting
process of the electronic component P in the second tray 2b, the
sub magazine 20 is generally positioned by the lifting and lowering
mechanism 30 to the height at which the first tray 2a is originally
stored in the tray magazine 10 as shown in FIG. 8B. In addition, as
shown in FIG. 8C, by the drive of the belt conveyor units 27 of the
sub magazine 20 and the loading mechanisms 53, the first tray 2a is
stored at the originally stored position. Subsequently, the
operations shown in FIGS. 6A to 6C are repeated.
[0089] In addition to the case where the first tray 2a is stored at
the originally stored position, the time efficiency may be
optimized by moving the first tray 2a from the sub magazine 20 to
another storing position in the tray magazine 10 based on the
control of the tray magazine control unit 3, for example.
[0090] FIGS. 11A to 11H are diagrams corresponding to the
operations of the tray supply apparatus 100 after the operation
shown in FIG. 8B. Correspondence relations thereof are as
follows.
[0091] FIG. 11A corresponds to FIG. 8B.
[0092] FIGS. 11B and 11C correspond to FIG. 8C.
[0093] FIG. 11D corresponds to FIG. 7A.
[0094] FIG. 11E corresponds to FIG. 7B.
[0095] FIG. 11F corresponds to FIG. 8B.
[0096] FIGS. 11G and 11H correspond to FIG. 8C.
[0097] As can be seen from the process diagrams, FIGS. 11A to 11F
show the processes necessary for supplying one tray 2 (six
processes for each tray 2).
[0098] As described above, in this embodiment, the sub magazine 20
having the belt conveyor units 27 whose stages are fewer than the
storing stages for the tray 2 stored in the tray magazine 10 is
lifted and lowered by the lifting and lowering mechanism 30. As a
result, unlike the related art, it is unnecessary to lift and lower
a tray magazine 10 having a large capacity. Therefore, it is
possible to avoid the increase in size of the tray magazine 10.
[0099] Further, the supply station 40 is provided with the lifting
and lowering stage 55, and thus the tray 2 can be moved between the
upper and lower belt conveyor units 47. That is, in the case where
the tray 2 is conveyed between the tray magazine 10 and the belt
conveyor units 27 and between the belt conveyor units 27 and 47,
the drives of the lifting and lowering mechanism 30 and the lifting
and lowering stage 55 are appropriately controlled so that a
time-efficient conveyance path is set, with the result that the
time efficiency of the supply of the tray 2 can be increased.
[0100] In particular, in this embodiment, the intervals for storing
the trays 2 in the supply station 40 are set to be equal to the
integral multiple (for example, twice) of the intervals for storing
the trays 2 in the sub magazine 20. With this structure, the two
trays 2 can be exchanged at the same time as described above, which
can increase the time efficiency of the supply of the tray 2.
[0101] In addition, the trays 2 can be moved in the upper and lower
stages of the supply station 40, with the result that other
operations for increasing the conveyance time efficiency can be
performed, in addition to the simultaneous exchange operation of
the two trays 2. For example, the following operation can be
performed.
[0102] On the upper stage of the supply station 40, the first tray
2a is disposed. During the mounting process, the second tray 2b is
conveyed from the sub magazine 20 to the lower stage of the supply
station 40. Thus, the two trays 2 are disposed on the upper and
lower stages of the supply station 40. Then, a vacant sub magazine
20 that has no tray 2 pulls out a third tray from the tray magazine
10 to the lower stage thereof. After the mounting process of the
electrical component P of the first tray is over, the first tray is
moved to the upper stage of the sub magazine 20. The second tray
disposed on the lower stage of the supply station 40 is moved to
the vacant upper stage by using the lifting and lowering stage 55,
and the mounting process of the electrical component P in the
second tray is performed.
[0103] (Operations of Tray Supply Apparatus 100 According to Second
Embodiment)
[0104] FIGS. 12A to 12F are process diagrams showing the operations
of the tray supply apparatus 100 according to a second embodiment.
The processes according to this embodiment are different from the
processes shown in FIGS. 11A to 11H in that the tray 2 in the sub
magazine 20 and the tray 2 in the tray magazine 10 are exchanged
substantially at the same time in the processes shown in FIGS. 12B
and 12F. Therefore, in the second embodiment, four processes are
necessary for supplying one tray 2.
[0105] (Operations of Tray Supply Apparatus 100 According to Third
Embodiment)
[0106] As shown in FIG. 13A, a stroke in the Z direction of the
suction head 153 provided to the component mounting apparatus 150
is generally set to about 15 mm, for example. The stroke value is
previously designed so that the thickness in the Z direction
responds to a relatively thin electrical component P1. Generally,
the stroke value is set as a distance from a lower end portion of
the suction head 153 to a placement surface 8 on which the palette
4 is placed. The placement surface 8 corresponds to the surface of
the endless belts 44 of the belt conveyor units 47 in the tray
supply apparatus 100 according to this embodiment.
[0107] Here, as shown in FIG. 13B, when the thicknesses of the
palette 4 and the tray 2 are set to about 1 mm, a stroke range
becomes about 13 mm. In consideration of a margin of a height for
avoiding an interference of the suction head 153 with the tray 2 or
the electrical component P1 at a time when the suction head 153 is
horizontally moved, the thickness of the electrical component P1 in
the tray 2 can be set to about 6 mm at a maximum.
[0108] As shown in FIG. 14, the tray supply apparatus 100 according
to this embodiment can treat an electronic component P2 whose
thickness is twice or more of the thickness of 6 mm. The supply
station 40 places a tray 62 in which the electronic components P2
are stored on the lower belt conveyor units 47, thereby making it
possible to give a longer distance from the lower end portion of
the suction head 153 to the upper surface of the electronic
components P2. In this case, the distance from the lower end
portion of the suction head 153 to the lower surface of the palette
4 can be set to about 30 mm.
[0109] In particular, in the supply station 40 according to this
embodiment, the interval between the belt conveyor units 47 on the
upper and lower stages is twice the storing interval of the tray
magazine 10. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 15, thicker electronic
components P3 stored in a higher tray 72 can be treated.
[0110] To implement the operations of this embodiment as described
above, the sub magazine 20 may initially place the tray 62 or 72 on
the lower stage of the supply station 40. Alternatively, in a case
where the tray 62 or 72 is initially placed on the upper stage of
the supply station 40, the lifting and lowering stage 55 may place
the tray 62 or 72 on the lower stage.
[0111] The embodiments according to the present invention are not
limited to those described above, and other embodiments can be
variously conceived.
[0112] Instead of the conveyor units 27 and 47 using the belt
drive, a conveyor unit using a ball screw drive, a rack and pinion
drive, or a linear motor drive may be provided. The linear motor
drive in this case refers to a non-contact type drive using a
magnetic field.
[0113] In the above embodiments, in the sub magazine 20 (and the
supply station 40), the set of the belt conveyor units 27 on both
sides thereof in the X direction is driven to convey the one tray
2. Instead, the conveyor unit on only one side in the X direction
may be used. This mode can be applied to a conveyor unit using the
ball screw drive, the rack and pinion drive, or the linear motor
drive.
[0114] Instead of the belt conveyor units 47 of the supply station
40, a placement portion having no drive source, on which the tray 2
can be placed, may be provided. In this case, the placement portion
has a plurality of stages as in the case of the belt conveyor units
47. In addition, one placement portion only has to have a plurality
of rotatable rollers arranged in the Y direction, for example.
[0115] In the above embodiments, the intervals in the Z direction
of the belt conveyor units 27 (and the loading mechanisms 53) of
the sub magazine 20 are corresponded to the storing intervals in
the Z direction for the trays 2 stored in the tray magazine 10.
However, the intervals in the Z direction of the belt conveyor
units 27 (and the loading mechanisms 53) may be set to be equal to
the integral multiple (twice or more) of the storing intervals of
the tray magazine 10.
[0116] The intervals of the belt conveyor units 47 of the supply
station 40 in the Z direction may be equal to those of the sub
magazine 20.
[0117] The sub magazine 20 may convey the tray 2 by using the belt
conveyor units 27 on the middle stage thereof. Alternatively, the
sub magazine 20 may convey the tray 2 by using any two sets of the
belt conveyor units 27 out of the belt conveyor units 27 on the
upper, middle, and lower stages.
[0118] The sub magazine 20 may pull out two trays 2 from the tray
magazine 10 substantially at the same time by using, for example,
two sets out of the three sets of the belt conveyor units 27.
[0119] In order to enhance the accuracy for positioning the trays 2
on the belt conveyor units 27 and 47 in the sub magazine 20 and the
supply station 40, respectively, the following embodiment may be
considered. For example, a sensor that detects the position of the
tray 2 on the belt conveyor units 27 (or 47) may be provided to the
sub magazine 20 (or the supply station 40). As the sensor, an
optical sensor, a magnetic sensor, or the like may be used.
[0120] Instead of the mode in which the sensor is used, for
example, a stopper that stops the movement of the tray 2 or the
palette 4 when the tray 2 is positioned at a desired position on
the belt conveyor units 27 (or 47) may be provided. The stopper can
be driven by a cylinder or other mechanisms.
[0121] In addition, a sensor for detecting whether the tray 2 and
the palette 4 are present may be provided between the sub magazine
20 and the supply station 40. As the sensor, an optical sensor or
other sensors may be used. When the sensor detects that the tray 2
and the palette 4 are not present, the lifting and lowering
mechanism 30 drives the sub magazine 20. As a result, the sub
magazine can be safely lifted and lowered, and the tray 2 can be
safely conveyed.
[0122] The present application contains subject matter related to
that disclosed in Japanese Priority Patent Application JP
2009-091713 filed in the Japan Patent Office on Apr. 6, 2009, the
entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
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